This invention pertains generally to protective packaging and shipping container systems, and more particularly, to an economical reusable protective packaging system particularly well suited in packing and shipping delicate parts that can be damaged by impact and/or vibration encountered during transit.
In manufacturing finished products some form of packaging is typically needed to handle, store, or transport the manufactured parts and from manufacturing and distribution sites to customer locations, and often, from customer locations back to the manufacturer. In the electronics and related industries, packaging must not only provide a convenient container for shipping or storage, but must also protect against physical damage caused by impact shock and/or vibration. Although specialty containers are sometimes used for products having odd shapes or for ultra-delicate parts, corrugated boxes (sometimes called cardboard cartons) with some form of internal cushioning or resilient restraints are the basic vehicle primarily used to provide the packaging for the vast majority of manufactured products.
The number of different corrugated boxes needed to accommodate the many different products of diverse character is tremendous due to the multitude of different products and the variations in size and shape thereof. There are perhaps thousands of unique packaging designs in order to suit the requirements of individual parts, and the multitude of different containers leads to the costly administration of part numbers and container inventory. This in turn leads to higher prices per unit for small quantities of each unique item, since the individual container can be a significant part of the cost of the item. In an attempt at reducing the number of unique packaging designs, container suppliers have designed multifunctional container systems capable of protecting many different parts of various shapes and sizes. A few such multifunctional container systems have been used for many years to provide reasonable flexibility for packaging parts of varying sizes and shapes by using simple materials such as Styrofoam or polyurethane-like foam in conjunction with corrugated boxes.
One such container system uses small foam cushioning "pillows" for packaging a part of almost any shape. The manufacturer/shipper forms the pillows at the manufacturing site using proprietary chemicals. Today, use of these foam cushion pillows is on the decline due to cost factors, chemical outgassing problems encountered during formation of the pillows, and personal hazards in handling the chemical that make up the pillows. A second type of container system uses loose fill Styrofoam "peanuts" glued together with a resin and then overlaid with a plastic sheet. The part to be shipped is then pressed or molded into this bed of cushioned material and then overlaid with another plastic sheet and more foam and resin before being placed inside a corrugated box. Although this has the flexibility of packaging parts of various sizes and shapes, it uses glued Styrofoam cushions that are not reusable. Once used, the cushions or pillows become largely deformed into a pulp which does not fit the original shape of the part originally shipped. The process is labor and equipment intensive, is not particularly economical, particularly since it cannot be reused, and there is a disposal problem of the foam cushions. In general packaging systems that rely on a mold-in-place package will only fit one unique part (once formed) and cannot be reused for shipping other parts of different size or shape. Recycling and reuse considerations are essential in designing new packaging devices, not only for cost reasons, but for environmental reasons also.
One particular problem common among economy-type packaging restraints is that side or lateral restraint protection is often inadequate to prevent damage to an article and in some cases is ignored altogether. For example convoluted foam packs having an upper and lower mating set are a common type of shipping restraint used in conjunction with corrugated boxes. Although convoluted foam provides plenty of protection on the top and bottom of a part, lateral support is often left to chance. If the part is relatively thin with a smooth profile or has been sealed in an electrostatic plastic wrap as is commonly done, the part can easily slip from side to side when a lateral shock load is imparted to the package. This can result in damage when the part hits the inside of the box, depending on the magnitude of the shock load and the fragility of the part. Or, if the part approximates the length or width of the foam set (which also equals the internal size of the container), then little or no room is left to protect the part from lateral impact shocks. The same basic problem exists with the ubiquitous peanut (a.k.a. popcorn) foam that is loosely filled into a box with the part to be shipped. Vibration can cause the part to shift in transit to one side or another, so that a sharp impact on the unprotected side can damage the part. Bubble wrap also suffers a similar restraint problem. As is known in the industry, improperly trained personnel often leave the ends of a part open after wrapping three or more layers around a part to be shipped. Elongated parts are often difficult to wrap properly with bubble wrap, and therefore, the ends of a part are prone to impact damage during shipping. In addition, bubble wrap is relatively expensive, labor intensive and requires trained personnel to properly install.
What is needed is an economical and reusable packaging design that is also environmentally sound and that reduces the variety of packages to be procured while assuring individual protection of each part which is packaged.
What is also needed is a reusable packaging design that will also accommodate virtually any part or product shape and has multiple packaging configurations to reduce the variety of different containers and packaging systems to be procured, inventoried and warehoused.